Historic Seattle has been working with the Ballard Historical Society and the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation to support the landmark nomination for the historic Ballard Carnegie Library. We urge you support the nomination and designation of this significant community landmark. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. Everyone seems to already think it’s a landmark, so let’s make it one officially!

Attend the Landmarks Preservation Board Meeting or Submit Written Comments

The Seattle Landmarks Preservation Board will consider this nomination at its meeting on Wednesday, September 19, 2012, at 3:30 p.m. in the Seattle Municipal Tower, 700 5th Avenue, 40th Floor, Room 4060. The public is invited to attend the meeting and make comments. Or you may email your comments to the Landmarks Preservation Board by September 17, 2012, by 5:00 p.m. Address your comments to the Landmarks Preservation Board c/o Kate Krafft and email comments to kate.krafft@seattle.gov.

We encourage you to speak or write about why the Ballard Carnegie Library building is important to you and/or the community. We ask you to tie in the City’s designation standards to support your comments. A property only needs to meet one of the designation standards to be landmarked but it’s always good to meet more than one standard. Review the nomination prepared by The Johnson Partnership to learn about the property’s significance. The nomination is posted on the Department of Neighborhoods website under the heading of “Current Nominations.” Download the meeting agenda here (LPB41412.)

We believe the property meets several designation standards including:

Standard C: Because the Ballard Carnegie Library was built when Ballard was an incorporated city and was a key cultural and educational institution in the community, it is associated in a significant way with a significant aspect of the cultural heritage of the Ballard community.

Standard D: The Ballard Carnegie Library is an excellent example of an eclectic style with Renaissance Revival or Neo-Italianate influences.

Standard E: The building is an outstanding work of architect Henderson Ryan.

Standard F: Even though it is located mid-block on NW Market Street, the Ballard Carnegie Library building maintains prominence of spatial location, contrasts of siting, age, and scale. It is an easily identifiable visual feature in Ballard and contributes to the distinctive quality or identity of the neighborhood.

Go to our preservation blog, MAin2 for more details on the issue.

Your voice will make a difference in demonstrating to the Landmarks Preservation Board broad community support for the nomination and designation of the Ballard Carnegie Library building.